Friday, February 6, 2015

Are you ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)? Don't worry if you don't know all your birds. Everyone can
participate. It doesn't matter if you
live in
the city or country, feed birds or not, are an expert birder or just a
casual
observer.

It's super fun, super easy, and a great opportunity for young and old to
connect with nature and participate in a huge science project.
It just takes a minimum of 15 minutes of observation. (See How
to Participate.)

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual 4-day event
during of February 13-16, 2015 that engages bird watchers of all ages in
counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of the bird population.

WATCH:
Count birds at any location for atleast 15 minutes—or more
if you wish. You can be at a park or looking out your office window.

Pics from Eagle, MI contributed by Mickey

TALLY:
Write down only the highest number of each species you see at any one time
to avoid counting the same birds more than once. For example, if you see 8
cardinals as you start your count period, then later you see 12, and later
still you see 3, you’ll only report 12--the highest number you saw
together at once. Please do not add the numbers
together.

SUBMIT:
Go online to submit your data. It’s OK if you count at the same location
each day—submit a new list for each day. Submit a new checklist for each
new location. You can submit more than one checklist on a given day if you
count at more than one site. They will ask you the level of your
bird identification skills and whether you are reporting all the birds or
just the ones you recognized. It’s simple!